Pokemon as an entire game relies on artificial scarcity and psychological manipulation. It's just a fixed cost up front for the game (and arguably not even stri

Pokemon as an entire game relies on artificial scarcity and psychological manipulation. It's just a fixed cost up front for the game (and arguably not even strictly so these days with Pokemon Go). Same with any game ever that has loot and drop tables. Allowing people to pay more money to get more drops is the only thing that's really changed. And honestly it seems the feedback depends entirely on how "sleazy" the game studio's street reputation is. Dota2 cosmetics are considered tasteful while Genshin Impact is "gacha". But heh even Genshin gets a pass because it's such a good game and not one of those mobile penguin island simulators (which even get a good rap in many circles for being cute and fun to play). My new thesis is: if "winning" is "looking cool by getting good loot", then allowing people to pay for drops is effectively pay to win. I think this nuance is often skipped over in the conversation about whether some new game's micro-transaction framework is sleazy or not.